Gettin' LSi15's!

wodom1

WooHoo! I'll be picking up a pair of LSi15's this weekend in IN. I'll also soon be getting one of the Soundstage tube pre's that Gator3000 is selling. Hopefully the tube pre and my Adcom GFA 545 II will be a good combo with the LSi's. 150w/channel would be sufficient for now I would hope. Until the tube preamp comes in, I'll be using my old Denon 1801 as a pre. I'm thinking I need to get a better CD player next, and then start looking into better amplification. I won't worry about getting a new receiver until I buy a new TV and start replacing my CSi 40 and FXi30's with LSi gear. Now I've just got to stay patient until next Saturday...

Demiurge

Ah, you snagged them. Excellent!

Good deal, Josh.

ben62670

Congrats on the speakers. Let us know how you like them.
Ben

heiney9

I have Lsi 9's and an Adcom GFA-545. I think you'll be good unless you have an unusually large room or like to listen at very high levels. I've only caused the clipping lights to flash briefly once or twice and that was well beyond normal listening. Should be a sweet combo.........enjoy!!!!

MSALLA

Very nice. congrats.

Joey_V

Wahoooo! Congrats on getting great speakers and gear!

pblanc

LSi 15s are great speakers. 150 wpc will be fine. I have found the LSi15 to be easier to drive at comparable volume than the LSi9. I think the LSi9's woofers get a bit overworked at higher volume trying to crank out all that bass from two relatively small drivers.

mwaarna

pblanc wrote:

LSi 15s are great speakers. 150 wpc will be fine. I have found the LSi15 to be easier to drive at comparable volume than the LSi9. I think the LSi9's woofers get a bit overworked at higher volume trying to crank out all that bass from two relatively small drivers.

For the Lsi9's.... Is that with no sub and no cross over?

Cause i have a decent sub and the LSi9's with a crossover at 80 and they do not appear to be hard to drive in my setup..

But looking at the cross overs from the LSi9 vs LSI15 one 5.25 driver on the lsi 9 has to handle everything below 200hz where as on the lsi15 everything below 150hz goes to the 8" passive woofer making it easier over all to drive.

McLoki

mwaarna wrote:

But looking at the cross overs from the LSi9 vs LSI15 one 5.25 driver on the lsi 9 has to handle everything below 200hz where as on the lsi15 everything below 150hz goes to the 8" passive woofer making it easier over all to drive.

You have the 15's correct.

• 1 driver under 150hz (8" woofer)
• 2 drivers from 150 - 800hz (5.25")
• 1 driver from 800hz-2.4khz (5.25)
• 1 driver above 2.4khz (tweeter)

The LPF is pretty fast at 12db per octave - (the part cutting out highs).

The HPF rolls pretty slowly at 6db per octave (the part cutting out the lows) for everything but the tweeter. (the tweeter rolls off at 18db/octave) This means there is still quite a bit of bass output for the 5.25" woofers below the crossover point.

The 15's are a three way (3.5 way) design - the mids have HPF and LPF applied to them:
Crossover (mid-high array):

• Driver 1: HPF at 150Hz 6dB/oct, LPF at 800Hz 12dB/oct.
• Driver 2: HPF at 150Hz 6dB/oct, LPF at 2.4kHz 12dB/oct.
• Tweeter: HPF 2.4kHz 18dB/oct.

Crossover (subwoofer)

• LPF at 150Hz 12dB/oct

_________________________________________________________________________

For the 9's - I think you may be confused (or I just read your response wrong)

• 2 drivers from bottom - 200hz (5.25")
• 1 driver from 200hz-2.4khz (5.25)
• 1 driver above 2.4khz (tweeter)

There is no high pass filtering of the woofers (they both play everything below their crossover points) and there is no low pass filter on the tweeter (it plays everything above 2.4khz).

Since the 9's are just a 2 way design (well 2.5 way)

• Driver 1: LPF at 200Hz 12dB/oct,
• Driver 2: LPF at 2.4kHz, 12 dB/oct.
• Tweeter: HPF at 2.4kHz 18dB/oct.

Hope this makes sense. If it is what you already said - Sorry...

Michael

mwaarna

I think based on the cross over situation.. the Mid's on the LSi15 would be much better than on the LSI9's ...

Any one who has had the 9's and 15s comment on the mid's.

I have 9s right now for L&R... and mid summer i plan on geting either rears(lsi9, lsi7, lsifx) or Move my LSi9's to the back and get LSi15's....

pblanc

Having a subwoofer doesn't in any way change what it happening inside your LSi9s unless the signal you are feeding them is going through a ridiculously high high-pass filter. The 9s are set up to provide a lot of bass from two small drivers. I have observed that they seem to have a quite significant mid-bass peak, and that at higher volumes are much more likely to start to sound
"strained" than the LSi15s. I like the LSi9s very much, but consider the LSi15 to be a better-balanced spesker, at least to my ears.

cheddar

mwaarna wrote:

But looking at the cross overs from the LSi9 vs LSI15 one 5.25 driver on the lsi 9 has to handle everything below 200hz where as on the lsi15 everything below 150hz goes to the 8" passive woofer making it easier over all to drive.

I thought the 8" was an active driver in the 15...

cheddar

pblanc wrote:

Having a subwoofer doesn't in any way change what it happening inside your LSi9s unless the signal you are feeding them is going through a ridiculously high high-pass filter. The 9s are set up to provide a lot of bass from two small drivers. I have observed that they seem to have a quite significant mid-bass peak, and that at higher volumes are much more likely to start to sound
"strained" than the LSi15s. I like the LSi9s very much, but consider the LSi15 to be a better-balanced spesker, at least to my ears.

Not to mention that you actually blew out a woofer in the 9.

http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49394

Seems like that's a good vote for the 15 right there...;)

McLoki

cheddar wrote:

I thought the 8" was an active driver in the 15...

Nope - one of the reasons (actually the main reason) that I prefer the 15's to the 25's.

25's have a powered 10" woofer, the 15's have a passive 8".

My amp is better than the one built into the 25's (imo) and I found it difficult to balance the bass with the rest of the speakers in the 25's. (This may have been my failing, not the speakers.)

Michael

heiney9

mwaarna wrote:

I think based on the cross over situation.. the Mid's on the LSi15 would be much better than on the LSI9's ...

Any one who has had the 9's and 15s comment on the mid's.

I have 9s right now for L&R... and mid summer i plan on geting either rears(lsi9, lsi7, lsifx) or Move my LSi9's to the back and get LSi15's....

Well, it depends on what you call mids. The only anomaly I can hear with the 9's is there is a definite lower mid-bass hump. It adds a bit of "warmth" to lower mid bass frequencies, perhaps some would call it a bit extra "punch" to the music. It does not however interfere with what my interpretation is of the midrange. Piano, acoustic instruments and especially vocals (both female & male) are spot on accurate and are a strength of all the Lsi speakers. The top end with the VIFA tweet. is extremely smooth and detailed without being the least bit harsh.

The 9's in order to get that great bass response have the lower mid bass hump. It's very easy to get used to and is really not all that noticeable until you start playing recordings that are heavy in the same area. Madonna's Ray Of Light and No Doubt's Rock Steady come to mind. Those have a somewhat synthesized bass sound that is over boosted in the recording at around the same freq as the slight bass hump the 9's have, so it sounds exaggerated on these types of recordings.

The midrange from say a violin down to a baritone sounds very accurate, open and extremely realistic. I love these speakers more and more each day.

H9

heiney9

pblanc wrote:

Having a subwoofer doesn't in any way change what it happening inside your LSi9s unless the signal you are feeding them is going through a ridiculously high high-pass filter. The 9s are set up to provide a lot of bass from two small drivers. I have observed that they seem to have a quite significant mid-bass peak, and that at higher volumes are much more likely to start to sound
"strained" than the LSi15s. I like the LSi9s very much, but consider the LSi15 to be a better-balanced spesker, at least to my ears.

I would agree, except I don't think the mid bass peak is "quite significant". It's certainly there and doesn't hide itself, but IMO "quite significant" is bit of an overstatement, but then you are entitled to your opinion too . The only thing with the 15's is they can be a bit hard to place properly with the side firing woofer. The 15's, when set-up properly, is the more balanced speaker of the 2 but the 9's aren't far behind especially with the right amplification. I really was afraid the 9's weren't going to have enough dynamics and impact because they are so small but they sure did prove me completely wrong. If had a much larger listening room I would have popped for the 15's, but for now I'm extremely happy with the 9's.

cheddar

McLoki wrote:

Nope - one of the reasons (actually the main reason) that I prefer the 15's to the 25's.

25's have a powered 10" woofer, the 15's have a passive 8".

My amp is better than the one built into the 25's (imo) and I found it difficult to balance the bass with the rest of the speakers in the 25's. (This may have been my failing, not the speakers.)

Michael

Probably just a confusion in terms. I always thought passive woofer referred to those woofers like in the SDA line. Those woofers do not have an active driver component but instead are 'driven' by the active drivers in the midranges.

From your explanation, the 8" does indeed have an active driver, just not an additional internal amp to drive it (not a powered subwoofer). I also prefer my 15s over the 25s because I think I get more bang for the buck when I add my external amps.

heiney9

cheddar wrote:

Probably just a confusion in terms. I always thought passive woofer referred to those woofers like in the SDA line. Those woofers do not have an active driver component but instead are 'driven' by the active drivers in the midranges..

Those are called passive radiators and they are coupled by air movement to the other drivers within the sealed cabinet. Passive radiators can be tuned by changing the center cap weight which in turn lowers or raises the freq. it operates at.

cheddar

Got it...passive -- radiators. Just hard for me to think of my 8" drivers as passive when they dig deep hooked up to my amps...:D

McLoki

cheddar wrote:

Probably just a confusion in terms. I always thought passive woofer referred to those woofers like in the SDA line. Those woofers do not have an active driver component but instead are 'driven' by the active drivers in the midranges.

Sorry - I understand what you mean now....

The 15's have an unpowered 8" woofer and 2 unpowered 5.25" woofers.

The 25's have a powered 10" woofer and 2 unpowered 5.25" woofers.

Michael

Monster Jam

With all due respect...

My 15s have an underpowered 8" woofer and 2 underpowered 5.25" woofers.

Demiurge

Sounds like a personal problem.

wodom1

Demiurge wrote:

Ah, you snagged them. Excellent!

Good deal, Josh.

Thanks Dave! I'm going to pick them up on Saturday morning. How are you liking yours so far?

Demiurge

wodom1 wrote:

Thanks Dave! I'm going to pick them up on Saturday morning. How are you liking yours so far?

Like a fat kid loves cake. Lots.

G-2

mwaarna wrote:

I think based on the cross over situation.. the Mid's on the LSi15 would be much better than on the LSI9's ...

Any one who has had the 9's and 15s comment on the mid's.

I have 9s right now for L&R... and mid summer i plan on geting either rears(lsi9, lsi7, lsifx) or Move my LSi9's to the back and get LSi15's....

We first purchased the 9's. We then brought home another pair of 9's (for testing purposes for the front with the other 9's moving to the back) and when we brought the 15's home for the front, we got better Mids and a fuller sound, the 9's are awsome in this room as rear's on the UF34's. So we feel the Mids are stronger on the 15's than the 9's (alone). The room is 20'x14'. Just our $.02

wodom1

Picking them up tomorrow AM. I can't wait to get these babies hooked up. Hopefully they're not too much for my living room...

fish976

what price are you paying for the 15's?

janmike

Congrats on the new acquisition. Let us know how you like them. PICS, PICS, PICS.

cfrizz

WELL??? Lets go with the review already!!!

wodom1

janmike wrote:

Congrats on the new acquisition. Let us know how you like them. PICS, PICS, PICS.

Thanks! My camera is at work, so I'll have to snap a few pictures sometime this week.

cfrizz wrote:

WELL??? Lets go with the review already!!!

These are a huge improvement over my RTi70's, especially the highs, though I'm not trying to say the 70's are a bad speaker -- they served me well for a few years and are what got me into this hobby. The tweeter is exceptionally smooth and isn't fatiguing at all. I got them home about 10AM Saturday and once I got them hooked up, they didn't quit playing music until I left for a party at 8PM. They're currently getting 150 watts/channel out of my Adcom GFA 545 II. I can't wait to hook up the Soundstage Tube Pre I'm getting from Gator3000. I've currently got them set as large through my receiver with my ext. sub turned off. The 8" woofers put out a good amount of bass in my 13' wide x 11' deep x 12' high living room. I definitely need to start looking into purchasing a new CD player -- I'm currently using a Denon DCM 60 five-disc changer. It does the job, but I'd like to get a higher end player in the next few months. I've only seen and heard these in the stores and never noticed how beautiful the finish is on the LSi series. The gloss black is gorgeous.

wodom1

A few pics of the new LSi's: